Will power and Gallen of grunt get the job done

Glenn Jackson

AWFULLY special out of the wreckage of a period that has been especially awful, NSW can breathe again. You have to hand it to Blues coach Ricky Stuart. He is one of those coaches. Give him a couple of years with a group of footballers and they’ll want to kill him. Give him a couple of weeks with the same group and they’ll want to kill for him.

Displaying the same defensive fortitude as they did in Origin I but this time with a little fortune to go with it, the Blues finished the stronger after trailing 8-6 at half-time. Fullback Anthony Minichiello, one of only two of this Blues outfit to win an Origin series, finished off the Maroons with a late try. It was set up by five-eighth Jamie Soward, who probed all night without success before finally finding the key play.

And who would have thought that size doesn’t matter so much. The best player on the field was captain Paul Gallen. He was immense. He ended up with more metres than Queensland’s starting props, returning the favour somewhat following the efforts of the Maroons’ rampaging front row in game one.

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The weather held off, and NSW were at least able to weather the storm of the two starting Queensland front-rowers. The Blues had a poor start, not the worst possible but still an unforgivable one, conceding a penalty – and the first points – at the end of Queensland’s first set. Johnathan Thurston converted after the Blues lay on the man with the ball and normal transmission was resumed. Queensland in the lead and in charge.

But really, they were only in charge on the scoreboard. The lightweight Blues pack was holding its ground against the biggest and baddest group of forwards assembled. The Blues even had the chance to level the scores but Soward’s penalty-goal attempt hit the upright.

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The Maroons began to bunch up. Problem was, the Blues started to stretch, and after Corey Parker had been hit high by the opponent for whom he was best man, Michael Ennis, hooker Cameron Smith spotted a slight gap, darted and ducked, and forced the ball down, despite the attention of Trent Merrin’s right arm, using all of 23 games of experience.

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Will Hopoate had been playing Origin for little more than 23 minutes but was proving a handful. After about a half-hour, he came up with a great run to put the Blues on the front foot. Halfback Mitchell Pearce’s kick was caught by Luke Lewis, who was in turn met by most of the Blues team in celebration after he scored. Under the circumstances, it was a remarkable half. A greasy ball was spilled on just two occasions; each side credited with one error. There wasn’t a lot between the teams in any department.

It was clear errors would be costly, and when Ashley Harrison’s forward pass was picked up by the officials, the Blues had their chance. Kurt Gidley offloaded to Gallen, who then kept the play moving. Pearce’s precise ball was only bettered by the clinical put-down of Hopoate, who bent himself to get the ball down in the left corner with his left hand. Soward’s second conversion from the left touch-line gave the Blues a four-point lead.

As they did in game one, the Blues panicked a little when they realised they were within touching distance of a victory. Anthony Watmough’s clumsy play-the-ball within spitting distance of the Queensland line was an example. It was just fortunate it happened midway through the second half rather than in the final minutes. They could regroup.

The Queenslanders pushed and pushed. Their best players, Thurston, Billy Slater and Darren Lockyer, were getting into the game but Lewis’s wonderful tackle on Cooper Cronk ended the play when a few weeks ago the same players had found their way through to snatch victory in Origin I.